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Silver Lake boys soccer on a roll

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Right now, it is hard to stop the Silver Lake High boys’ soccer team.
Last Saturday night, the Lakers were not able to keep their winning streak going, but they improved their unbeaten streak to eight games when they took on the Whitman-Hanson Panthers at home. The game was tightly contested for its majority and by the end of it, both teams got a point in the standings in the 2-2 tie. The tie put the Lakers at 11-2-1 on the season.

The first half of the game was rather unproductive, although both teams played quality defense, neither team scoring until the second half.
Whitman-Hanson ended up scoring the first goal of the game; 11 minutes into the second half, they got the ball in the net off a header from the right side of the field. It would not take the Lakers much time to respond.

Just two minutes later, Casey Grindle kicked in a goal to tie the game at one apiece and on the Panthers’ next possession, Justin Keating made a strong one-handed save to preserve the tie.

In the 65th minute of the game, the Panthers were able to regain the lead. The Lakers had a defensive lapse–and it resulted in a breakaway and a goal for their opponent.
Despite falling behind, the Lakers would not go down without a fight. With 6:30 left in the game, Alex Lloyd scored the game-tying goal to prevent the Lakers from receiving their third loss of the season. Colin Caniff had the assist on the score.

With three minutes left, it appeared as though the Lakers had taken the lead on a score off of the head, but it did not count due to an offsides call.

The Lakers’ next game is this Saturday, Oct. 21 on the road against Weymouth, 6:30 p.m. start time.

Lakers best Plymouth North 30-6

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The Silver Lake High football team was on the wrong track for a couple of weeks as they played some of the toughest teams in the Patriot League, Keenan Division (Duxbury and Hingham).

Last Friday night was a change in pace for the Lakers, however, as they were able to come out with a big 30-6 road win over Plymouth North, who fell to 1-5 on the season. Meanwhile, the Lakers improved to 4-2 for the season. That win guarantees them a spot in the Division 4 South playoffs that start in the final week of October.

The first half of the game was a battle; it was not until the latter half of the game that the Lakers started to pull away. Phil Lashley had a 67-yard touchdown run for the Lakers with under a minute remaining in the first half. His score put the team up 6-0 at halftime.
With five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Lakers, who played tough defense all day, added more points to the board. This time, Tanner Boyd hit Lashley with a 26-yard touchdown pass. Boyd then connected with Diamani Williams on his 2-point conversion pass to put the Lakers up 14-0.

Jake Waters had the interception that gave the Lakers the good field position to make the score.
On Plymouth North’s next possession, they fumbled.

This game the Lakers good field position and Boyd threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Ohlson to put his team up 22-0.

Plymouth North got on the board with a 75-yard touchdown pass with 6:03 remaining, but Lashley countered a few minutes later with a 24-yard touchdown run.

The Lakers move on to face Whitman-Hanson (4-2) this Friday, Oct. 20 (7:00 p.m. start time) on the road. If the Lakers win this one, they will likely have a home playoff game next week.

Last Call for George Colby, call firefighter, retiring

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Plympton Fire Department has seen many changes over the past four decades. George Colby has borne witness to the last 43 years as a call firefighter. He has responded to the tones of a pager when an incident has arisen in the community.

Leaving his wife often in the night during blizzards and hurricanes, there have been many times he has been away from his family and missed many events through the years.

He credits his wife Sandi’s unwavering support as an integral part of his career. They have one adult daughter, Meagan, and a 9- year old grandson.

Holding his keys, Colby imitates his wife’s gesture as he walks through his late night calls.

“She got up with me every call over the last 43 years. My pager goes off and she is up with the lights on in the house, porch light on and my truck keys in her hand, waiting at the door to send me,” he said.  The key ring has a carved ornamental firefighter hat that his wife gave him as a present.

The two met when they were in college, both then working full time in the field of radiologic technology.  He asked her to marry him after two weeks of dating.

His eyes misted over as he proudly spoke about his career and the many changes he has experienced within the department.

In addition to the obvious body style in engines and ambulance designs, Colby has seen alterations in turnout gear, the way the jackets are fit alongside the nearly tripled weight of fire helmets. With progress and development in protection and flame retardant materials, firefighters have a lot more protection on calls, he said.

When I began my career I was in a long jacket and hip boots.   “In the old days,” the material warned us when things got too hot, to get back. Now, the gear allows firefighters to move in closer and go further to fight a fire, he said.

He has served under four fire chiefs including Warren Borsari, the current Plympton Fire Chief.

“George is the best pump guy I have,” Chief Borsari said. Borsari described George as dedicated, but Colby replied, “I never looked at this as a job or hobby. I have considered it serving the community. It has been a calling.”

As he spoke he glanced at a paper pocket calendar, which was ear marked, full of writing and ever so slightly crinkled.

He pointed to the date of his upcoming meeting, where he will be addressed and honored as a retiree.  One thing that hasn’t changed is his method of recording.

“I know the battery isn’t going to die on this,” he said shaking the paper notebook.

He does plan to stay on as an educator, teaching the younger guys, something he says he enjoys. “I am looking forward to having him teach some of the hydraulics classes.  He is full of knowledge, “Chief Borsari told the Express.

Anticipating signing off from his post, Colby said, “The whole thing feels very emotional. What I think I will miss the most is the camaraderie of the firehouse along with being there to help the public. I am going to miss this something awful,” he said.

Liquor license transfer voted

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On Monday, October 16, 2017, the Plympton Board of Selectmen approved the transfer of Plympton Gas and Convenience’s liquor license from the previous owner, Steve Craig, to the new owner, Plympton Gas and Convenience, Inc., with Michael and Susan Youssef of Medford, as principals.  Laura Chase will remain as manager.

A public hearing was held on Monday for the Board to come to this decision. Atty. John Marini of Lynn represented the new owners in the hearing process for the license application.

Marini said Chase worked under the previous store owner for four years and that a lot of the same people will be working in the store. Plympton Gas and Convenience stayed compliant and has not sold any alcohol since the ownership transfer.

The Board of Selectmen gave no reservations on approving the request for a liquor license transfer.  Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said, “It’s been a very-well run operation without any problems.”

Selectman John Traynor also said he didn’t have any problem with the transfer, but suggested the store consider the TIPS certification program. Traynor said TIPS provides useful training at the retail level for determining if someone is intoxicated or may have a speech impediment or another sort of disability. He added it gives the store a little more protection from legal issues.

Some towns in Massachusetts, including Plymouth, require those working at alcohol retail establishments to be TIPS certified. Plympton doesn’t have this as a town requirement, however Atty. Marini said he recommends that his client takes Traynor’s advice.

Plympton Gas and Convenience, located at 280 Main St., should be able to start selling beer and wine again soon.

Town Administrator Search Update

The Plympton town administrator candidate screening committee narrowed down the candidate pool to two candidates for the Board of Selectmen to interview.

This screening committee was appointed by the Board of Selectmen and consists of: Colleen Thompson, Town Treasurer – Collector, Town Accountant Barbara Gomez, Police Chief Patrick Dillon, former Finance Committee member Marilyn Browne, Assistant Assessor Deb Stuart, among others.

Finalists Joshua Garcia and Elizabeth Dennehy were interviewed by Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 17. There’s a possibility a candidate could be chosen next Monday.

Other News

At a previous meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, selectmen discussed how much a social media presence the Board of Selectmen should have. These discussions continued into last Monday’s meeting.

Both Joy and Traynor mentioned a desire to be more responsive on social media, particularly the Facebook group “Plympton Helping Plympton” was brought up. Joy wanted to see the Board have its own page.

Previously, Selectman Clerk Mark Russo was hesitant regarding the idea, expressing concerns over how this affects things like the open meeting law. However, at last Monday’s meeting, Russo said, “I’m coming around on Facebook.”

The Board all said nothing is imminent and members all expressed that larger cities and towns have the ability to hire someone full-time to do this type of work. If anything, the Board said this may be a responsibility of the new town administrator.

The next regular Selectmen’s Meeting is Monday, Oct. 23. Open session starts at 6 p.m.

SL Football falls for second straight week

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Last Friday night was far from pleasant for the Silver Lake High football team.

For the second straight week, they met one of the toughest opponents from the Patriot League and because of that, they were handed their second straight loss of the season. This time, the Lakers fell, 61-7 to the Duxbury Dragons at home. The Lakers are now 3-2 on the season.

The Dragons, who are one of the top teams in the state, were dominant in the first half. They scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and three more in the second quarter to take a 40-0 lead headed into halftime. On the other hand, the Lakers struggled to do much of anything when they had possession. On each of the Lakers first six drives of the game, they were unable to get a first down. In fact, they only had two first downs in the first half.

Although the Lakers were overmatched in the bout, they were able to enjoy a moment of success in the loss. Dan Collins had a two-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Earlier on that scoring drive, he had a 57-yard run to give his team the ball in favorable field position. A successful extra point kick made it a 47-7 game at that point.

The Dragons kept playing hard for the rest of the contest, so they were able to add two more touchdowns to further pad their lead. They also continued to prevent the Lakers from doing much offensively.

The Lakers move on to face Plymouth North (1-4) on the road this Friday, Oct. 13 (7:00 p.m. start time). While their upcoming opponent may have a losing record, they have played an exceptionally tough schedule, losing games to Hingham, Duxbury, Whitman-Hanson and Dennis-Yarmouth, who is the best team on Cape Cod.

A win this Friday would essentially guarantee the Lakers a playoff spot.

Silver Lake Girls soccer rolling over competition

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It may come as a bit of a surprise that the Silver Lake High girls’ soccer team started the year at 2-2 with the way they have been playing lately.

Although they had a .500 win percentage early in the season, they have been one of the top teams in the state since. To start the week, they had won seven straight games to improve to 9-2 on the season, putting them in position to be one of the higher ranked teams in the postseason this season. After all, at the start of the week they only needed one more win to clinch a playoff spot with about half of their season remaining.

In that impressive winning streak, the Lakers outscored their foes, 31-1. They shut out six of their seven opponents with Caity Smith giving them strong performances in net.

On the attack, the Lakers have been strong all year. In their 8-0 win over North Quincy on Friday, Oct. 6, they had many different contributors who were able to kick on goals. Calliste Brookshire, Hannah Vogt, Holly Reeder-Morning and Morgan Palma all had strong performances offensively.

The Lakers also made it to the postseason last year, but they are far and away a strong team this season. In 2016, the Lakers enjoyed success, but finished the year 8-8-2. In seven less games this season, they already have more wins.

One major reason the the Lakers have been able to enjoy this sort of success this season is because they have a massive senior class of 13 players. Those seniors include: Melanie Coughlin, Ali Crawford, Carlee Fahey, Emily Ford, Kirsten Ghelfi, Sydney Kehoe, Tayla Mayberry, Shannon Murphy, Morgan Palma, Caity Smith, Meghan Supple, Jillian Wohlgemuth and Morgan Wohlgemuth. Since the Lakers rely heavily on that highly-talented senior class, this is their year to potentially make a deep postseason run.

The Lakers next game is this Saturday, Oct. 14 (4:30 p.m.) against one of the strongest teams in the Patriot League: the Whitman-Hanson Panthers.

A reunion of Halifax firefighters and infant cardiac patient

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In a surprise emotional reunion, parents Colby and Rachel Whelan of Halifax offered their 3-month old daughter Avery to the arms of Captain Matthew Cunningham on Sunday at the Halifax Fire Open House.  With visible emotions, Cunningham cuddled the baby he helped save on July 19.

“She is the best birthday present”, he said as he looked at her bright eyes. The desperate call fell on his birthday, a day he will not soon forget.

“It’s the type of call that you hope you go your whole career without getting,” said Captain Cunningham who spoke after the reunion aside fellow paramedics and Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros.

“I’ve been on similar calls that unfortunately didn’t go as well. Luckily for all of us, circumstances could not have been better,” he said

That crucial day they had a full medical crew available, an address neighboring the fire station, and Rachel herself, CPR certified, all working in favor for little Avery who at just 12 days  old  was in full cardiac arrest.

Her training taking over, Rachel was given pre- arrival directions by the 911 dispatcher and paramedics continued to revive Avery moments later until they reached Signature Health Care Brockton Hospital.  Avery had open-heart surgery the next day at Tufts Children’s Hospital in Boston.

“The incredible response time and focus you gave in this emergency- you saved her brain. You saved her life,” said Avery’s father Colby as he spoke to EMTs and Viveiros on Sunday.

Avery will need continuous medical care; however, Rachel describes her as a happy, feisty baby who is doing ‘awesome’. “Better than we can imagine,” she said.

Also responding that day were PJ Hogan, Shamus Ricciarelli, and Joe Gibbons, with Chief Jason Viveiros who drove Rachel to the hospital as medics sped away with her infant.

“That call validates everything that we do, all the years of school and re- certification classes we undergo. That call is why we do what we do. I’m just glad that the outcome was positive and that I was able to be a part of it. “  “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about Avery every single day since July 19. To see Avery come in with her parents completely, neurologically unaffected by what she went through, and being able to hold her, gave me a feeling of satisfaction that I hadn’t yet experienced in my 13-year career,” said Cunningham.

Halifax garden, stop signs, cremation choices

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Meeting with the Halifax Board of Selectmen Tuesday night, Candace Kniffen of the Halifax Beautification Committee, reviewed the rules governing the newly established gift account for the maintenance and upkeep of the Fitzgerald Garden.

Kniffen told the board that donations have been coming in and she and her committee would like to use some of the funds for hiring a landscape company in the spring to do the routine maintenance and upkeep of the garden, which honors the late longtime beloved Halifax volunteer Peg Fitzgerald.

Kniffen also said that she had approached the Silver Lake horticultural program for their help in landscape design and choosing plants that are likely to do well in the garden.  She asked selectmen if they would approve extending the garden plan to include foundation plantings around the Town Hall building itself, to complement the garden.  Their response was a resounding “yes”!

She asked selectmen if they need to acknowledge gifts to the garden account or if the Beautification Committee can do it.  Selectman Kim Roy told Kniffen that they would like to be informed of gifts to the account and might like to send an additional note of appreciation, but that should in no way interfere with her committee sending thank you notes.  Kniffen also said that she mentions at the bottom of her letter to donors that their gift is tax deductible and that the letter should serve as the donor’s receipt for tax purposes.

Abandoned properties

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig told selectmen that the town treasurer has told him she has about 18 abandoned properties in foreclosure, as the town attempts to clean up these parcels and make a plan as to how to get them either into saleable condition, demolish them, or take any other action. 

At the last selectmen’s meeting on Sept. 26, three boards came together to discuss how to deal with these properties that in many cases are a blight to the neighborhoods and can be dangerous.  At that time, Seelig asked their boards’ input on how to craft new by-laws to more easily classify abandoned properties and describe the action(s) to be taken by the town.

Seelig said that he had hoped they would have a new by-law on the special town meeting warrant this November, but information from the boards has been slow to come and rather than have a hastily written by-law which might not serve well, he would like to have a carefully crafted by-law to present to the town at the annual Town Meeting in the spring.  “We have basically run out of time to have them at the Special Town Meeting in November,” Seelig said.  He suggested they delay any action until the May annual town meeting.  “If we’re going to change the multi-family by-law, it needs to be done thoughtfully,” he said.

Special Town Meeting

Selectmen have scheduled the Special Town Meeting for Monday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m., pending school availability.

Laurel and Circuit streets ‘Thickly Settled’

Residents of Laurel and Circuit Streets met with selectmen, to plead their case for stop signs at the four-way intersection, as well as signs to limit speed.

Seelig told selectmen that a new bill signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker allows towns to post new signs limiting speed to 25 mph, declaring the area “thickly settled” without all the former testing and red tape.  Seelig sent a notice to all residents of the two streets asking their opinion and he told selectmen that he received a number of responses, all favoring the reduced speed limit and signage.  Police Chief Ted Broderick favors the 25 mph limit, Seelig said.

Philip Salvatore of Laurel Street said that he favors the 25 mph ‘Thickly Settled’ signage.  Selectman Tom Milias said, “This does give law enforcement another tool.”  Gene Lyczynsky of Circuit Street, when asked if he would like to add anything, said, “You guys got it all!” 

Selectmen will confer with the highway surveyor after unanimously voting to implement the plan.

Cremation options

Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward brought in plans for a Cremation Wall to give a dedicated space for cremation urns, rather than have each take up a grave plot.  The Halifax cemetery is running short for space and Hayward said he would like to be able to offer other options.  He brought several photographs of some of the choices available, including a wall with niches for urns, a circular structure with spaces for urns, or a combination of both.  Selectman Milias said he thought the matter was “worth pursuing.”

Selectman Roy asked Hayward, “Do you want to design it?”  “I’d love to,” was Hayward’s answer.

Hayward also told the board that he has had a couple of complaints regarding plantings or decorations being damaged by mowing, and he wants to post the cemetery rules and regs by the water spigots so everyone knows what they are.  Selectmen agreed.

Trucks vs. school buses

Brendan Moquin, representing Morse Bros., appeared before selectmen to answer concerns that their gravel removal operation was interfering with school bus traffic on Lingan Street and Indian Path.

Moquin said that the gravel removal project will be completed within four to six weeks.  He said that he has coordinated with the contractor, and got the school bus schedule so there will be no further interference.

Selectman Troy Garron, who lives in the area, said that he has not seen any further violation.  “Indian Path wasn’t part of the deal.  Never was,” Milias exclaimed. 

“If the rule is broken again, I will be pulling the permit,” Roy told Moquin.  They will not tolerate further interference.

Selectmen’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Harbormen give Lakers first loss of the season

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Not every team can have a perfect season, and the Silver Lake High football team had theirs come to an end last Friday night.

After winning their first three games of the season, the Lakers were handed their first loss of the season, 39-22, by the Hingham Harbormen on the road.

The Harbormen struck first in the game–and it did not take the Lakers long to respond. In the first quarter, Tanner Boyd threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Ohlson to tie the game at six apiece. Boyd completed his pass to Nate Thacker on the 2-point conversion to give his team an 8-6 lead.

That lead would not last very long, however. The Harbormen scored on a 45-yard screen pass under one minute later to take a 12-8 lead. Less than five minutes later, they added another score on a 21-yard quarterback run. They hit their extra point and took a 19-8 lead into halftime.

The Lakers fought back and Phil Lashley (22 carries, 106 yards) scored from two yards out in the third quarter. They also hit their 2-point conversion to make it a 19-16 game.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Harbormen had a 60-yard touchdown pass just 20 seconds later to pad their lead.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Lashley punched in a 5-yard touchdown run to bring the Lakers within five points, but that was as close as they would come to a win.

The Harbormen padded their lead with two more scores in the fourth quarter. First, they threw a 25-yard touchdown pass and a few minutes later, it was a 10-yard touchdown run that gave them a 39-22 lead. At that point, the Lakers did not have enough time to make a comeback.

The Lakers move on to face Duxbury next Friday, Oct. 6 at home (7:00 p.m. start time).

Lakers Boys Golf Looking Strong

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Once again, the Silver Lake high boys’ golf team is likely one of the stronger programs in the Patriot League.

The Lakers, who are off to a 5-2 start to start this week, are coming off a year where they had golfers make it to the Division 2 South Sectional and while that usually indicates a more experienced squad, experience has not been an issue for the team this season.

The team’s top golfer, Dillon Brown is back for his senior year–and, of course, he is the team’s captain since he was also their top performer last season. His co-captain and classmate, Owen Fontaine, also brings some experience to the mix.

Having those two guys at the top of their lineup gives off a vibe that the Lakers have an elder team, but that could not be further from the truth. Four of their six varsity starters will be back next season which could lead to further growth for the team.

What is especially beneficial for the Lakers is that their No. 3-5 varsity regulars will be back for multiple seasons after this year. That shows the potential this team has to excel for a long time. Specifically, sophomore Tyler Mason, freshman Tyler Brown and freshman Mike Sylvester are occupying those spots and the Lakers are winning matches.

Although those might be the golfers who occupy the top spots, the Lakers do have a few more players who can contribute at that level including: junior Dylan Capaccioli, sophomore Kevin Cardarelli and senior Matt Breslin. Since Capaccioli and Cardarelli are returning next season, they are both in a good position to earn everyday roles next season.

The Lakers next meet is Tuesday, Oct. 10 against the Quincy Presidents at home (3:30 p.m. start time). The Lakers play their home matches at the Country Club of Halifax.